Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Ron Altemus, Pat Walthers, Rita Z

Guests: none

Weather: summer back again: sunny, humid, breezy, high 70s quickly rising to the mid to high 80s.  If we'd had days like this in July and August, people would have been happy.  Since it's late October, some thought it stultifyingly hot.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17210875  39.6 miles, 1846' of elevation gain  Today we explored a bit of Marlton north of Heathermore Blvd on Woodstock and Old Colony circling the Marlton Swim and Recreation Club we've never visited before, in the process discovering yet another previously unknown hill.  (Not that that bothered Rita today: with that 40 tooth low gear sprocket, hills just don't rate with her anymore.)  After a brief trip through the Alternate Reality Distortion Field down ****** Hill and a rest stop at the Safeway in the South Osborne shopping center, we went clockwise (i.e., backwards) up South Osborne and William Beanes and down Croom Station, up Croom and down Mt Calvert and Croom Airport to a second rest stop at the Pavilion at Patuxent River Park (except for those who misread the cue sheet and went to Jug Bay first and then joined us down at the foot of Croom Airport).  The final leg went down St Thomas Church and up Fenno to Nottingham and Candy Hill back to North Keys and the park.

Mishaps and mechanicals: none

AMS: 12.7

What a strange day.  The Washington Post featured a story about the complete closure of the Wilson Bridge on the Outer Loop of the Beltway and seven mile backups all the way up to the Mixing Bowl at I95 -- to the point that I sent out an email warning that I might be late -- but when I got to the bridge traffic on the Outer Loop was as light as I've ever seen it on a Thursday morning, and the drive to the park took 15 minutes less than usual. 

There was no AB ride until a bunch of AB riders showed up and then there was one complete with a leader.  Holly was involved with a work-related phone call and couldn't leave on time, so As,Bs and CC all left together while Barb & Ron waited for Holly.  They all caught up as we got onto the 301 shoulder and we stayed together until we entered Marlton.  We rejoined at the Safeway until the ABs left several minutes before us, then rejoined again at the Park Pavilion.  Leaving the Pavilion, Rita went with the ABs while Sam took her place with the CCs.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:  Mike Bivens, Pat Walthers, Janell Saunders, Steve Palincsar, Holly Carr, Joan Oppel

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14239364  Down/up Bumpy Oak to Hawthorne and Ripley/Annapolis Woods/Fire Tower to a rest stop at Scott's.  West on 6 to Durham Church and then Ironsides/Smallwood Church/Sweetman/Bicknell to a 2nd rest stop at the Pisgah Store.  Descent of Mason Spring and climb of Livingston was the final leg. 

Weather:  an early September day in mid-October.  Plenty of sunshine, temps ranging from a low of 69 while crossing Mattawoman Creek and then reaching a high of 80 at ride's end.  Breeze out of the SW made the return go very quickly.

AMS:  13.3 for the sweep.  Much faster for others, I'm sure.

Report:  the glorious weather really brought out the riders today!  I was figuring on the "usual suspects" and thus delighted/surprised when so many signed in on the CC sheet.  Holly and Janell ended up riding faster than the rest of us and we only saw them at the rest stops.  Mike was on his first club ride after the birth of grandson and not only is he a proud grandparent but he also had new Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x38 tyres to show off (welcome to the club, Mike!).  Pat had a rare Tuesday off from her volunteer duties and was able to join in the fun.  The ride itself was particularly nice - long segments w/o any traffic allowed for the Conversational Cruising that CC riders enjoy.

Leader: Barbara Haney

Members: Ron Haney, Jan Tucker, Jane and Jim Hudnall, Dave Schnirel, Larry Peed, Alan Kurzweil, Chris Fairhall, Tom Short, Daryl Lowery, Sam Perry, Tom Roberts (Holly Carr and Janell Saunders signed with CC but rode with us)

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14239364, Welcome and Smallwood Church: clockwise loop through Welcome, turning northward at Durham Church and back past Smallwood Park and Pisgah, a club route designed by Jim Hudnall 

Weather: perfect, upper 60s to about 80, light breeze, abundant sunshine; summer without the excessive heat or humidity 

AMS: 18 for leader

Report:  With the fantastic conditions today, and knowing that they won't last, we almost filled up the sign-in sheet this morning; besides many regulars, there were some riders we don't get to see as often who were playing hooky from work or other commitments. Nobody regretted their decision, as it was one of the most perfect mornings imaginable. We made good time to each of the rest stops, and once there enjoyed the company and the sun for quite a while, almost reluctant to leave, not wanting to see this beautiful warm morning come to an end. Thanks to Ron A for the original CC posting, and to all who came out today. 

Ride Leader:  Blake Altman

Date: October 16, 2016

Ride Name:  Casey Jones to Cobb Island

Ride Distance:  51 Miles

Average Speed of the Ride:  19.8

Ride Class:  AA/3 Sport

Mechanical Issues: None

Mishaps: None

Weather:  Upper 50’s to upper 60’s, foggy then clearing to mostly sunny, breezy, and beautiful

Guest Riders:  None

Member Riders:  Scott Walker, Brad Francisco, Steve Koegle

Ride Report:

The ride started with most of us lamenting that we hadn’t been on any longer rides lately.  However, we still managed a respectable pace.  Part of this was due to everyone working together and slowing or waiting for anyone who dropped off of the back.  This made for maximum efficiency and maximum enjoyment.

If you ride enough you are likely to see most anything on the road.  Today it was a harvester going up US 301 for a good 5 miles or so.  It was wide enough that it took all of the right lane and most of the shoulder.  It slowed us down on the flat and downhill sections but was marginally faster than us on the uphill sections.  There was no way we were going to try and pass it!  To add to the fun it and we had to work around a car stopped on the shoulder; fortunately, there wasn’t any overtaking traffic at that point.  It was a relief when it finally pulled-off the road.

This was definitely a fun ride and a vast improvement over last week’s fiasco when I had a rider crash on my ride.  Thanks for joining me gentlemen.  And as always, be careful out there!

Leader: Sherwood Byers and Linda Bankerd

Members: Darryl Lowery, Tom Short, Janell Saunders, Majesta Hartley, Ken Meredith, Diane Harris, Chris Fairhall, Theresa Rowell

Report:  This was a 55 mile route heading out on Accokeek and Gardner to Waldorf, then south and east on La Plata, with a few encounters with Route 5, to access Oliver Shop and Gallant Green, heading back on Poplar Hill, Cedarville and McKendree.  There were a few new roads, some better than others, one that did not go through as suggested on Google Maps.  It was good;  tweaks will make it better.  The insufferable chlorophyll green is fading, giving way to softer,  more neutral tones.  Some consolation for the waning of summer. Our group of 10 or so stayed together for most of the time making for a very pleasant day.

 AMS: We averaged between 15 and 16 mph, a true B pace

Today's weather promised to be beautiful and it was...after the fog burned off.  I was at the start location but no one came, except my sister,  Theresa Rowell.  At 8:20 we decided if no one came, we would go to Manokeek and join the 9:00 ride being led by Linda Banker and Sherwood Byers.  No one came.  We left the fog, headed over to Manokeek,  which was clear, and had an enjoyable 55 mile ride with Linda and Sherwood. 

Ride Leader:   Calvin Conyers (co) and Mia Hayes (primary)

Participants:  A lot, see Mia's detail report

Additional Highlights:  see Mia's excellent description.  We all had a ball enjoying the ride and getting first hand information  on the club from our active leaders, Sam Perry, Mia Hayes, and Sherwood Byers.  They were all introduced at some point of the ride.  This was the first time Megan, Michelle, and Fernando completed the entire trail.  It was great to have Sherwood dialing it back  to offer encouragement to newer riders.  Thanks Mia for posting.

Leader:  Mia Haynes

Co-Leader:  Calvin Conyers

Members:  Rod Barnes, Ken Meredith, Rodney Palmer, Lester and Joan Jackson, Fernando Lujan, Sherwood Byers, and Sam Perry

Guest:  Hans ???, Meagan Croan, and Michelle Croan

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  None.

Another beautiful day to ride the trail.  Plenty of fun to be had and plenty of activity.  As you can see I had a couple of special guests on my ride today:  Sherwood, the club’s road captain; and Sam, the club president.  It was nice having them there, and with my being the club VP – we had a few cabinet members present - Cool.  It was also nice seeing Lester and Joan.   

The first leg of the ride, to the Indian Head side, we kept a really good pace.  We saw two wild turkey, squirrels, dogs walking their owners, and plenty of people either riding; walking; or running.  As we approached the ascent, we noticed Meagan and Michelle were stretching on the side of the rode – so Calvin yelled out, “Come on ladies, only a little way to go to the end”.  They followed along and soon realized they had make it to the true end of the trail. 

They joined us on the return trip and completed the trail for the first time, excellent job ladies and glad you joined us.  I think we made members out of them; I hope so, they were fun.

Thanks to everyone for coming out, it was a wonderful ride as always.

Ride Leaders: Jackie & Randy Schoch 

Members: Ron Altemus, Jim and Jane Hudnall, Bev White, Judy Mutty, Robin Garnett, and Larry Peed.

Guests: Harold Johnson and Belinda Acre

Weather: Clear and low 60's!

Route: IHRT 

Mishaps & Mechanicals: None

AMS: 12 mph (leaders)

A large group of regulars came to ride this morning. There were many trail users including bikers, walkers, joggers, and many dogs taking their humans for a walk. We didn't see a lot wildlife out and about today (a  wild turkey, a box turtle, and squirrels). Member Bob Moye was riding the trail again today. It was a good day to be on a bike ride. Most of the group rode ahead at a faster pace. Jackie and I rode sweep. At the White Plains rest stop, Jackie and I with the rest of the riders met up with Bev and Judy. It was a fast return trip back to Indian Head. Jackie and I had a dentist app. so we didn't do lunch with the rest of the group.

Ride leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Ron Altemus, Pat Walthers, Joan Oppel, Rita Z

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13839010  A mostly flat 40 mile route that took Cedarville and Dr Mudd to a rest stop at the Moreland Market, then went down Young, Celestial and Dr Bowen to Eagle Harbor and a second rest stop at the Cedar Haven Fishing Area.  Returning on Dr Bowen to the Five Points, the route then took Horsehead to Brandywine and Gibbons Church back to the park.  1316' of total elevation gain, most of it along Dr Bowen and returning from Eagle Harbor.

Weather: Checking the hourly forecast on weather.com I was led to expect a foggy, cool morning followed by a rise to the mid-60s.  It didn't look that way out on my front porch, but as I learned many years ago my front porch, with its sunny southern exposure is about the warmest place in all of Metro DC, leading to some horrible shocks in remote places like Poolesville and Marshall.  Still, I added a lycra jersey to the kit as I was loading the bike, just in case.  Arriving at North Keys Park -- about the coldest, windiest place in all of Brandywine, there was no fog and I quickly discovered it was just as warm as on my front porch.  When Joan arrived, she explained weather.com was having a technical problem and was displaying the previous day's weather forecast.  It turned out, as Barb said, to be very nice, partly cloudy, mid 60s to start, warming up to about 70s and a bit breezy.

Mishaps & mechanicals: Pat had a flat on Ash Trail in Eagle Harbor.  We spent quite a bit of time fixing it, trying without success to find the foreign object that had caused it.  Still, the remaining 15 miles were uneventful so hopefully it had gone.  [Edit: patching the tube revealed a classic snakebite pinch flat, so no foreign object was involved.]

AMS: 13.1

When we set out, Rita took off with the B group and it was just Ron, Joan, Pat and me for the first 8 or 9 miles.  We saw a rider in the distance on Poplar Hill, and when we finally caught up with her it turned out to be Rita.  She rode with us from that point on.  After the weeks of research that went into the project, it was a pleasure to finally see her new bike post-drivetrain modifications with its 11-speed DynaSys MTB rear derailleur, 11-40 cassette and Wolftooth TanPan making it all possible.  It was one of those "It's alive!" moments...